Discarded fishing nets, recycled carbon fibres, and a clear vision of sustainability as a driver of industrial growth. It might sound like the beginning of a utopian tale about the circular economy, but it is precisely what is happening in the SUSTAINED project—one of the flagship initiatives of CO-SMART, funded under Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) as part of Mission 4 “Education and Research”. Coordinated by the University of Pisa and developed in collaboration with several Italian universities, including the Polytechnic University of Bari and the University of Bologna, the project operates within Spoke 11 of the National Centre for Sustainable Mobility (MOST), which aims to revolutionise the automotive sector through sustainable materials.
From marine plastic to the vehicles of the future
At the heart of the SUSTAINED project lies a simple yet radical idea: turning waste into a resource. Discarded fishing nets, one of the main contributors to marine pollution, are processed to recover polyamide 6 (PA6), a high-performance engineering plastic. To this, recycled carbon fibres—typically considered industrial waste—are added to create a lightweight, high-performance composite material ideal for structural car components.
The result is remarkable: each tonne of this new material prevents the release of nearly six tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere, with an environmental impact 150% lower than that of equivalent materials made from virgin resources. These are compelling figures, making the composite not only an environmentally sound choice, but also an industrially competitive one.
Passed tests and superior performance
To prove that sustainability doesn’t have to come at the expense of safety, researchers developed a real-world prototype: a seatbelt connector made entirely from the new composite material. Performance-tested by Stellantis, the component successfully passed mechanical strength assessments, in some cases outperforming traditional materials.
This achievement not only validates the scientific soundness of the project but also paves the way for large-scale industrialisation of a fully recycled composite.
A new value chain
But SUSTAINED is about more than just developing a new material. Its more ambitious long-term goal is to build an Italian supply chain for sustainability, grounded in material reuse and collaboration among public research, industry, and local communities. From collecting the nets in ports, to pre-treating and reprocessing them, all the way to producing automotive components, the project outlines a new circular value chain—one that could be replicated across other sectors too.
The Department of Industrial Chemistry at the University of Bologna focused on recycling the carbon fibres, optimising the pyro-gasification process. Meanwhile, the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering at the University of Pisa took charge of collecting, sorting, and characterising the discarded fishing nets, pre-treating and reprocessing them, producing the composites, and conducting mechanical characterisation.
Human capital as the driving force
What made all this possible is also an unprecedented investment in human capital: within Spoke 11 alone, as many as 45 junior researchers—including RTD-As, PhD candidates, and research fellows—have been involved in the projects, as highlighted by coordinator Maurizia Seggiani. “The PNRR has truly been a Marshall Plan for Italian research,” she stated, “but now we need continuity: we cannot afford to lose the skills we have developed.”
SUSTAINED is, therefore, a tangible example of how innovation, sustainability, and industrial development can go hand in hand—starting from waste and ending in advanced materials that could equip the cars of tomorrow. A story of applied science that deserves to move beyond the lab and become a cornerstone of national industrial innovation.
